NIKOL HASKOVA

"Emotional Intelligence"

Vancouver artist Nikol Haskova has been painting crows for a few years, finding in them satisfying metaphors for human relationships. The birds are intelligent, she observes, and adapt easily to a world that humans are rapidly reshaping. “Crows are survivors. You can take everything away and they will use materials or find things you wouldn’t expect. They will build a nest out of clothes hangers from a drycleaner, for example.”

"Moon and Honey"

Nikol Haskova, "Moon and Honey," 2013, acrylic on panel, 24" x 24".

Her favourite painting, Emotional Intelligence, shows two crows as if they are chatting. One bird looks down and away. It expresses her take on her relationship with her husband, who has a different communication style. “It was just this commentary on what we seek and how we go looking for it,” she says.

Haskova’s life experiences have been unusual. She lived in the former Czechoslovakia until her parents managed to take her and her two siblings out of what was then a Communist country. They lived in a refugee camp for a year in Austria, before coming to Vancouver in 1988, when she was 16.

"The Agitator"

Nikol Haskova, "The Agitator," 2013, acrylic on canvas, 36" x 60".

She got her start as an artist by chance after a friend gave her some paints. She was working at the White Rock Gallery at the time and brought in an early effort for framing. A customer saw the work and promptly bought it. More sales soon followed.

Nikol Haskova is represented by Mayberry Fine Art in Winnipeg and the Canada House Gallery in Banff, Alta. Her work sells for $1,000 to $10,000.